Cooper Taylor Blog: First Game Ball

Safety Cooper Taylor was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round this past April. Throughout the year, the University of Richmond product and Georgia native will provide an inside look at his journey of making it in the NFL. This week’s post picks up with Cooper getting back his engraved game ball from the equipment staff, commemorating his first career touchdown off a blocked punt against Oakland.

It’s cool to finally get it back. They just gave it to me today. I’m definitely going to send it home to Atlanta and give it to my parents. Let them show it off for all the family and friends coming over for the holidays.

Speaking of which, our win over the Redskins was a great way to finish off Thanksgiving. We were able to go down to Washington and get a “W.” I had a bunch of my friends there from Richmond, which is only about a 60-minute drive to DC. So I had a bunch of my college buddies there watching the game. I converted them from Redskins fans – they’re all from that area – and they were all in Giants stuff for the game. They were guys I played college ball with that are either finishing up this year or finished last year. They’re back just as fans, and it’s great to see guys you’ve played with. It’s awesome to have friends there supporting you. It was a great win and a big win to build on heading to San Diego.

Now it’s the final stretch of my rookie year. Body feels good. Knock on wood. It’s a lot longer than the college season, especially coming from the FCS level where you play only 11 games. Right now, including the preseason, we’re at 16 already plus we have four more to go. It’s definitely a long season, but the coaches definitely take care of you and right now it’s about getting the mental work in and making sure you’re ready for the games on Sunday.

San Diego is another great offensive team. Philip Rivers is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and he has a bunch of good athletes around him. Special teams-wise, they have two great kickers and great special teams overall in terms of stats. So it’s going to be another battle, just like it was against Dallas a couple weeks ago and Washington last week. It’s another week to study, compete, and prove it on Sunday.

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Cooper Taylor is in his first year in the NFL and with the Giants. The 6-4, 228 pound safety played college ball at the University of Richmond. His path to the NFL is unique and a story in itself. Cooper will be writing a blog each week exclusively for Giants.com